France – Hue festival’s biggest partner

2012-02-23 (GMT + 7)

France continues to be an important partner in the organisation of this year’s Hue festival, which starts in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on April 7 and runs for a week, an official has said.

Nguyen Duy Hien, Director of the Hue Festival Centre said that the event will feature various unique performances staged by contemporary French artists, musicians and performers, including the Carabosse Fire and Light Troupe, the Combo Box jazz band and the Ego street artists.

A French NGO will also run a support programme for disabled children in the area.

Since the Vietnamese Government authorised Thua Thien-Hue and the French Embassy in Vietnam to host the first Hue festival in 2000, one of the country’s biggest cultural events, many French technical specialists have arrived to help the city organise the biennial festival.

As an major event on a national and international scale, it also combines cultural exchanges with the developing tourism industry to turn Hue into the country’s premier festival city.

So far, 40 groups from 30 countries worldwide have registered to take part in the event, including the Bathiholic drummers from Japan, Gugak from the Republic of Korea, Stradivaria from France, Max Vandervorst from Belgium, Tim Exile from the UK, Paco Renteria from Mexico and many others from Panama, Cuba, East Asia and Latin America.

As part of the festival, the 13 th annual conference of the League of Historical Cities will also be held, attracting representatives from 80 cities across 55 countries and territories.

The event is also expected to be a highlight of the National Tourism Year in Thua Thien-Hue.